Validity and reliability of a “Simplified” version of the taylor complex figure test for the assessment of older adults with low formal education

Abstract

Objective: The assessment of visuospatial abilities and memory using tasks such as the Taylor Complex Figure Task (TCFT) is biased for older adults with low formal education. We devised a “Simplified” version of the TCFT designed to assess older adults with low educational background and provide preliminary evidence of its psychometric properties. Methods: We evaluated a heterogeneous sample of healthy older adults and patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease dementia using the simplified TCFT and other neuropsychological measures. Results: Our results suggest that the test copy, immediate and delayed recall have high inter-rater agreement and internal consistency, significant correlations with other tests of visuospatial abilities, memory and intelligence, and also detected significant group differences between controls and patients. Conclusion: Our study presents a new measure for assessing low-educated elderly with promising evidence of validity and reliability.